Sweet and Sour Tofu

Ever since I came across Lauren Ulm's VeganYumYum blog years ago, I have been making this sweet and sour dish. I used to love sweet and sour chicken when I was a kid. Although, I never really liked the chicken and would only eat the breading around the edges leaving the chicken in the middle intact. Even as a kid I never really like meat...or dairy. Just ask my mom. She used to make me sit at the kitchen table until I finished drinking my milk. Guess who won that battle? Me. I would sit there all night if that is what it took to not have to drink that nasty glass of milk. Yuck! She still tells this story to this day. And it is still entertaining to anyone who listens because they all say they can see me sitting at that table, arms folded, silently biding my time.

Anyhow, back to dinner! I just love this meal. I think it is really the pineapple that I love the most. Shannon loves the tofu and exclaimed tonight that this is her favorite meal. I think I have said this before: she says this about every meal! It never gets old, though. I think it is sweet that she loves my cooking so much. This recipe comes straight from VeganYumYum with some adaptations.

Choose whatever vegetables you have on hand or like with stir-fry, they will work in this dish just fine. I used carrots, celery, onion, red pepper and pineapple. Stir-fry in a wok for a few minutes on high heat and mix in with the tofu and sauce.

Crispy Sweet and Sour Tofu
Serves Two

1 Tub Extra Firm Tofu, pressed
2 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer + 4 tsp water, mixed
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Peanut or Canola Oil (or you can dry fry to nix some of the fat)

Sauce
3 1/2 Tbs Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
3 tsp Sugar
1 Tbs Tamari
1 Tbs Ketchup
1 tsp Molasses
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbs Cornstarch + 2 Tbs water

Slice the tofu into triangles or small cubes. Smaller = better for this recipe, since smaller pieces won’t have a tendency to break when you toss them, and they have a bigger surface area to volume ratio (read: they’ll be crispier).

Toss tofu with the egg replacer/water mixture until coated. Then toss in cornstarch until each piece is coated and dry, adding more cornstarch if needed.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok. 

While oil is heating, mix sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch/water into a small sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until sugar and salt is dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. If you leave the sauce unattended now it will thicken and burn, so keep an eye on it. When thick, turn off heat and set aside.The sauce thickens extremely quickly after adding the cornstarch mixture.

Place tofu in the hot oil, being careful not to burn yourself. You don’t want the tofu to be crowded or the pieces will stick to each other, so fry it in batches if needed. Fry for 3-5 minutes until golden on the bottom, then gently turn and brown the other side.

Drain tofu from oil (in the sink like you’d drain pasta, being very careful), and place tofu in a large bowl. Pour sauce on top and gently toss to completely coat. Sauce should be thick and sticky – it shouldn’t pool at the bottom of the bowl.